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abicaro17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
kylegray20's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Minor: Addiction, Biphobia, Cancer, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
tmchopra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Outing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Religious bigotry and Abandonment
azileotulp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First big issue: POV. I genuinely cannot fathom why this book was written in the third person. Don't get me wrong, I can really appreciate a third person book (although I typically prefer first person). In fact, two of my favorite books of all time are in the third person. However, it just did not work in this book. I just feel like third person perspectives in romances don't work for me at all. (Do you know how many times I had to read the words "Alex" and "Henry" on each page because the word "he" couldn't be used?) I think the novel would have worked a lot better and been easier to get into if it had been in the first person. It would be even better if it had been dual POV. I'm not just saying that because I love a good dual POV book, but I think it also would have prevented the book from dragging, which it did in a lot of places.
Second big issue: Characters. My favorite part of romance is falling in love with the characters, which I usually find very easy to do. By the end of this book, I only really loved one character (Henry <3) and liked two others (June and Alex). I don't really hate any of the other characters (except Richards, of course), but I'm just totally neutral on them. I feel like there were just too many of them to be honest. There were multiple instances where the book was discussing certain characters that I had to really rack my brain to try to remember. I feel like this is another reason the first person POV would have worked better for me. I feel like it's a lot easier to love characters when you're inside the mind of someone who does.
Third big issue: Smut. I swear this book has some of the most confusing smut I've ever read. Now, it's not like I actively wanted there to be super graphic smut. I'm really not a huge fan of it in general, so I won't seek out books that contain it, but I also won't avoid it if it's there. My real issue is that it seemed like this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be Young Adult or New Adult, and the smut teeters on the line between those two. It just frustrates me that it was far too explicit to actually be a Young Adult book, but not explicit enough for it to be understandable. It felt like every action that happened was stated so vaguely that I couldn't even imagine the scene. Every time I got to a smut scene, I had to read it at least three times before I could at least kind of form a picture of what was going on, and eventually I just stopped trying.
Those are the main things I would say hold the book back. There are definitely others,
First big strength: Humor. This is actually one of the funniest romances I've ever read. Other romance books usually get an exhale out of me, but very rarely an actual laugh. This book made me genuinely laugh twice. That might not sound like a lot to other people, but it definitely is for me. I feel like the characters played off of each other really well, and there were just a lot of scenarios that led to some really funny moments.
Second big strength: The last quarter. So, you know how I said this book was really hard to get into? That includes a lot of the middle section unfortunately. However, when there were about 100 pages left, the
Overall, this definitely isn't one of the best books I've read. It's not even close. That being said, it's very charming in a lot of ways and I can definitely see why so many people love it. If you think you can get past the issues I talked about, then this could very well be a great book for you.
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
maggiegirouard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
fierygecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault and War
cats33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
kitty_may12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
McQuiston invites us into the turbulent world of Henry and Alex, who quite possibly two of the best rom-com leads in recent memory, sharing an unbelievable chemistry that just leapt off of the page and into my heart, never to be forgotten. What else is there to except, this was just great, and I can't recommend it enough...
Graphic: Stalking and Outing
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Vomit
foxclcves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
erikagibson126's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism